LLC Sees Drop in Application Numbers

Applications for the Living-Learning Center have declined over the past three years, from 488 in 2005, to 327 in 2006, to just 220 for 2007.

While certain administrators have credited this drop in applicants to fewer students attempting to live the "suite" life, some students point to the lengthy application and the first-year experience in the LLC as reasons why fewer students are applying to live there.

"It's no longer about real estate just to live in the LLC,'" said Cristen Scully Kromm, assistant dean for Community Development and director of residential programs. "There are expectations that are followed up on, that you participate actively in the LLC."

She noted that while the actual number of applications had declined, the quality of them had improved.

"If students are interested in reapplying to live in the LLC for a second year, they must demonstrate that they have contributed to the LLC community and will continue their active participation," Cromm said in a statement.

Alice Sturm, CC '10 and a resident of Hartley who reapplied to live in the LLC next year said that the decision to reapply depends largely on the your first-year experience and whether you have a social suite.

"The main thing that would deter people is a bad experience the first time," Sturm said. "It makes a difference if the people in your suite really want to be there," explaining that many of the first-years that live in the center had listed it as their last choice when applying for housing.

"It's hard to create a community if a lot of the people who live there don't want to be there," Sturm said.

Sturm also noted that the LLC is known around campus as being "nerdy and anti-social. I don't think that's true-my experience hasn't been that way, but I think that's the stigma," she said.

Dave Vega-Barachowitz, CC '10, a Hartley resident who decided not to reapply to live in the LLC, noted that the center could be a hard place to live at times.

"It's somewhat isolated and can be a not great social experience if you don't know anybody," Vega-Barchowitz said. "At least in my experience, you kind of have to find your own universe in other places."

The application process, which included a nine-page written application and five one-page essays this year, can also discourage for some perspective candidates, Sturm said.

The LLC was founded in 2000 by Columbia College Dean Austin Quigley and SEAS Dean Zvi Galil with a mission to "foster an atmosphere that supports self-exploration and promotes opportunities to develop ownership and leadership within the residence halls," Cromm said in a statement.